Main southern Thai insurgent group rejects army peace plan

BANGKOK: The most prominent insurgent group in Thailand's south rejected the military's peace plan in a rare statement on Monday, underscoring Bangkok's inability to open negotiations with the actual fighters in the conflict.

The country's southernmost border provinces, which were annexed by Thailand more than a century ago, have been plagued with violence for over a decade as ethnic Malay rebels battle Thai troops for more autonomy from the Buddhist-majority state.